Label: International Anthem / Nonesuch, 2020

Personnel - Jeff Parker: guitar, synth, drums, piano, percussion, glockenspiel, sampling, mbira, vocals; Josh Johnson: alto sax, electric piano; Rob Mazurek: piccolo trumpet; Nate Walcott: trumpet; Paul Bryan: bass guitar; Jamire Williams: drums; Makaya McCraven: drums; Jay Bellerose: drums, percussion; Ruby Parker: vocals; Katinka Kleijn: cello.

Jeff Parker is an extremely versatile guitarist who gained notoriety in experimental groups such as Tortoise, Isotope 217, and Chicago Underground Quartet.

On his newest album as a leader, Suite For Max Brown, he reconvenes The New Breed group to homage his mother, at the same time that looks into ways to surprise the listener by fusing contemporary music approaches (there is an adequate spectrum of beats and samples) with the classic jazz artistries of John Coltrane and Joe Henderson, here represented by renditions of their “After The Rain” and “Black Narcissus” (renamed to “Gnarciss”), respectively. The former piece, delivered in the standard guitar-piano-bass-drums format, fully embraces contemplation, while the latter flows at a faster tempo with a hip-hop vibe, featuring Makaya McCraven on the drums and Rob Mazurek on piccolo trumpet. These two numbers, together with the closer, “Max Brown”, rely on relatively larger ensembles, while the rest of the tracks features Parker performing in essentially solo and duo configurations (he handles multiple synthesizers, piano, samplers, drums and percussion, glockenspiel, midi programming, as well as vocals in several different contexts).

“Build a Nest”, for example, is vocally layered in the company of his 17-year-old daughter Ruby Parker. On “Del Rio”, he teams up with electric bassist Paul Bryan to set an African-tinged atmosphere composed of monochromatic mbira patterns, gooey bass lines and a trancy beat. “3 For L” is an improvised jazz piece in 3/4 time, charged with translucent shades of soul. It's another duet, this time with drummer Jay Bellerose.

Both “Fusion Swirl”, a solo exertion, and “Go Away”, shaped in classic guitar trio with Bryan and McCraven, denote an unyielding funk circularity. The former tries out a danceable electronica outfit before remaining in a sort of mantric mode until folk melodies populate the concluding segment; the latter piece, instead, comes rhythmically charged like an African dance/chant.

Parker continues to probe sounds with feeling, plunging into diverse sonic milieus with that same intent for innovation that marked his previous works.

Favorite Tracks:
06 - Gnarciss ► 09 - 3 for L ► 11 - Max Brown

Label: Clean Feed, 2017

Lineup - Kjetil Moster: tenor saxophone; Jeff Parker: guitar; Joshua Abrams: bass; John Herndon: drums.

As an adventurer who explores with no concrete boundaries, Norwegian tenorist Kjetil Moster couldn’t have found a more suitable foundation for his sounds than the streamlined rhythm team composed of Jeff Parker and John Herndon, Tortoise’s guitarist and drummer, respectively, and bassist Joshua Abrams, founder of Natural Information Society, whom we could hear recently in projects such as Rempis/Abrams/Ra trio and Jason Stein Quartet.

After gigging together for some time, the musicians decided to hit the studio, and Ran Do is a positive payoff that dignifies their talent.

“Orko” resonates affirmatively with the impromptu drumming of Harndon. The rest of the members join him, one after another, starting with the bandleader, who pours out chant-like phrases, and then the bassist, who integrates his throbbing flippancy with the disentangled yet often disconcerting guitar sounds of Parker. The musical scenario feels simultaneously volatile and strapping as the improvisations occur.

“Dig Me Out” takes a darker and more intriguing sonic path. On top of that, it is noisy and polyrhythmic. The deeply cavernous blows freed by Moster are strongly imprinted on a surface that also exhibits long and distorted guitar lunges and a multitude of percussive elements. These are intensified in order to uphold bowed bass euphoria, quirky guitar vagaries, as well as the hissing and growling of the saxophonist. Even climaxing in an approachable rhythmic cadence nurtured by bass and drums, it all becomes very ghostly.

The absorbing “Annicca”, the longest piece on the record at more than 15 minutes, serves up African ritualistic pulses, raucous saxophone expressions peppered with vibrato effect and dark timbre, wha-wha guitar dipped in modern funk, and incessant marching bass lines. After Abrams’ monologue, the tune changes skin like a chameleon, presenting a more melodious sax operating with a sweeter timbre on top of permeable guitar chords.

The last tune is funnily entitled “Pajama Jazz” and puts us in orbit with an ostentatious groove reclined in glory. Dripping until coagulate, the piece thrives with the magnificence of Moster’s ramblings filled with revolutionary, spiritual, and charismatic freedom. While accompanying, Parker sounds more surrounding than incendiary, but shows he can also be a wirepuller, delivering a spectacular solo and showing off his matchless sound.

These self-determined orchestrators, provided with instinctive stimulus and scintillating inspiration, are valid voices on today’s vanguard jazz scene.

Favorite Tracks:
01 – Orko ► 04 – Annica ► 05 – Pajama Jazz